November 2008
I forgot to post my climb at a mountain in the Bavarian Alps. It was my first outdoor activity with Christian as the mountains are just less than half hour from his place. We climbed a mountain before we went to Salzburg the following day, then Kitzsteinhorn ski resort a day after Salzburg trip.
We started at around 900 meters above sea level, Christian parked his car, and we started the climb. It would be another mountain hiking after my last climb about 2 or 3 years, at Mt. Pinatubo via Tarlac in the Philippines. Though here we did not carry a backpack in this climb in the Alps, except for some water and bread for snacks, my legs and lungs were rusty. So after walking for more than an hour and reaching a plataeu, a farmer's house in the mountain at around 1,400 meters elevation, I wanted to quit. I wanted to ask Christian that we go back, as the summit is still about 200 meters higher and would take my rusty legs another 30 to 40 minutes climb. But I was ashamed to say the words, "I'm quitting, let's go back". So I pretended that I was still ok despite very tired.
When we reached the summit though, all the hardships and wobbly legs seemed to have disappered, the view at the top was great! We had a 360 degrees view of the nearby mountains, hills and the lowlands. The summit is about 1,600 meters above sea level, the towns below are at 700 meters, while the city of Munich even farther in the lowlwnds is at around 500 meters elevation.
When we came back to their house, I was tired but still happy with this conquest -- a conquest of my weakening lungs and wobbly spirit for mountaineering. We ended the day with a few rounds of locally-brewed beer, and rested for another trip the following day -- a visit to Salzburg, Austria.
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